National
8:44 pm AEST August 29 2000
Govt to veto UN investigator visits to Australia
AAP --
The federal government will veto nearly all visits by United Nations human
rights investigators in response to critical findings about Australia's
treatment of Aborigines and asylum seekers.
The government will also scale down its participation in UN inquiries, and
will not sign up to a new UN complaints body under a treaty on
discrimination against women.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock and
Attorney-General Daryl Williams announced the changes today in response to
a review of Australia's involvement in UN committees.
The review was called earlier this year after UN committees criticised
mandatory detention laws in the Northern Territory, the government's
refusal to compensate the stolen generation, and the mandatory detention of
asylum seekers.
Mr Williams said the UN committees had the wrong priorities, and paid too
much attention to non government organisations at the expense of democratic
governments.
"The committees don't seem to have their priorities right," Mr Williams
told reporters.
"The focus seems to be on minor marginal issues in those countries and not
on major human rights breaches in countries that don't have democratically
elected governments."
Under the changes, the government will only allow UN investigators into
Australia if they have a compelling reason to visit.
But Mr Williams said it was clear Australia's strong human rights record
left little room for UN visits, compared to other nations with substantial
human rights problems.
"If you are comparing it with arbitrary arrest, detention and execution,
and having your arms chopped off for belonging to the wrong political
party, almost every issue in Australia seems to pale into insignificance,"
he said.
The opposition and human rights groups condemned the decision.
"It is an astonishingly poor show by the government and to be deplored by
all thinking Australians," opposition foreign affairs spokesman Laurie
Brereton told reporters.
Human rights watchdog Amnesty International said it was deeply disturbed by
the government's decision.
"This is an irresponsible over-reaction to recent poor report cards,"
Amnesty's Australian director Kate Gilmore said in a statement.
"It has clearly signalled its willingness to dismiss the rights of the
vulnerable - including indigenous Australians, women and refugees - as
secondary to the needs of the state.
"In placing the state above the individual, the government is tacitly
encouraging other countries like Burma and China to set any standards they
choose."
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission president Alice Tay said the
government had displayed a bunker mentality.
"It is an overreaction to criticisms levelled at Australia by two UN treaty
committees this year on a number of grounds," Professor Tay said in a
statement.
"The ministers' position betrays a bunker mentality."
Australian Democrats foreign affairs spokeswoman Vicki Bourne said the
government decision deserved contempt.
"Today's statement indicates that the Australian government now shares the
attitudes of some of the world's worst and most oppressive regimes,"
Senator Bourne said.
Australia's only indigenous senator, Democrat Aden Ridgeway, said the
announcement was linked to another expected round of UN criticism.
"The timing of the government's comments is clearly linked to the fact that
another UN human rights committee is expected to criticise Australia about
our treatment of indigenous peoples," Senator Ridgeway said.
Mr Downer had used hostile language bordering on threatening, he said.
"While the Democrats do not dispute that there may be room for improvement
within the UN treaty committee system, we do not believe that the
heavy-handed and arrogant approach which this government has adopted is
helpful or likely to enhance Australia's international standing on human
rights matters."
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